Alu, Cipher Runes, and Bindrunes

A bindrune of magical importance can be observed on a Migration Era artifact (ca

550-600 CE), known as the Körlin (Karlino) Ring, from Poland. The ring is of
historical importance but is seldom talked about, as it has been lost. Fortunately,
drawings of the ring preserve valuable information about it, however.

We’re going to break down the meaning behind the bindrune found on this ring,
but let’s first cover some basic terminology on the Elder Futhark runic alphabet
before diving into cipher runes, which can get somewhat complicated.

Ætt

This is an Old Norse word which means

something along the lines of a family, group,
or division of things. Think “portion” in
modern English. In reference to runes of the
Elder Futhark alphabet, an ætt refers to a set
of 8 runes (out of 24 total). Thus, the first ætt
corresponds to the 1st 8 runes (ᚠᚢᚦᚨᚱᚲᚷᚹ),
the 2nd ætt corresponds to the next 8 runes
(ᚺᚾᛁᛃᛇᛈᛉᛊ), and the final ætt, sometimes called
Tyr’s ætt, corresponds to the final 8 runes
(ᛏᛒᛖᛗᛚᛜᛟᛞ).

This division of runes is attested on 2 artifacts,

chiefly the Vadstena (left) and Motala bracteates
(in which the ætts were separated by two dots).

Stave

A stave is a reference to a central vertical line in

runology. Some runes inherently contain staves, such as the ᛏ rune or
the ᚨ rune. Conversely, other runes, such as the ᚲ contain no stave, and runes such
as the ᛖ rune lack a primary central stave (and instead have 2 staves). This
becomes significant in the following section.
Bindrune

What we will discuss here are runes which date to the early medieval era of
Germanic history and not the early modern Icelandic sigils written about far into
the Christian period. Bindrunes are quite common in the Germanic corpus, some
being very simple space saving combinations of letters and other appearing more
esoteric (and perhaps magical) in nature.

Let us first cover the most mundane of bindrunes, those generated simply to save
space. To demonstrate this principle, we will utilize the very common phrase “Ek
Erilaz”, which is a late Proto-Germanic/Proto-Norse phrase that commonly
commences runic inscriptions. “Ek” means “I” in modern English, and is more
apparent in the Old English “Ic” or modern German “Ich”. “Erilaz” has a more
elusive meaning, possibly meaning “Earl” (Old Norse “Jarl”, a noble), but also
possibly referencing knowledge of the runes, and possibly referencing an ancient
Germanic tribe known as the Heruli”. Below is an example of this phrase from an
artifact known as the Bratsberg clasp, from the Migration Period.
In the above diagram, the first line is the phrase “Ek Erilaz” written out using
individual runes. The 2nd line is a historically attested version of this phrase from
the Bratsberg clasp. Generally speaking, bindrunes are generated by combining
the vertical “staves” of adjacent runes in a line. This can involve the inversion of a
rune, for instance in the end of the phrase the inversion of the ᛉ rune to fit at the
bottom of the ᚨ rune, or it can be more simple, such as combining the vertical
staves of the ᛖ rune with its neighboring ᚱ rune.

However, there are also many examples of artifacts which contain bindrunes of a
more esoteric and likely magical significance. It should be noted that these
bindrunes are often much less complicated than those seen in modern times in
heathen circles by so-called modern “runemasters”.

Let us first start by examining two artifacts which contain a triple repeating
bindrune utilizing the Gebo (ᚷ) rune as a base, combined with an Ansuz rune (ᚨ)
or something similar.
The first example in the above diagram (1) is from a spear shaft inscribed with
runes and tossed into a bog, quite clearly as a votive offering in a ritual context.
The main body of the runic inscription is “mundane”, and thus readable, however
the inscription contains this triple repeating ᚷᚨ-ᚷᚨ-ᚷᚨ (GA-GA-GA) bindrune
(marked in red in drawing of the artifact). The Ansuz rune is marked in the first
bindrune to help the reader. The artifact then ends its inscription with a series of
apparently nonsensical repeating runes, including 8 consecutive Ansuz (ᚨ) runes
and 3 Tiwaz (ᛏ) runes, which most suggest as magical in purpose.

The exact meaning of the triple repeating ᚷᚨ bindrunes is not completely known,
and won’t be delved into in this article, but some have suggested it is a symbol of
luck, perhaps as an abbreviation for the proto-Germanic/Norse phrase “Gibu
Auja” (Give Luck), attested in the Seeland-II-C bracteate (which will be covered
later in this article).

The second example of the GA bindrune (2) is from an artifact referred to as the
Undley bracteate. This artifact was uncovered in England but likely constructed in
continental Germania and brought to its final resting place by an early Anglo-
Saxon invader of the British Isles. It is nearly identical in form to the Kragehul
Spear Shaft, which is significant, however it differs in that the 2nd bindrune
contains the earliest example of the Anglo-Frisian futhorc rune known as “Os” (ᚩ;
denoted in yellow in the above diagram). The bindrune in the image of the
original artifact can be observed highlighted in red. This artifact provides a 2nd
example of a triple repeated, rather simple bindrune for likely magical purposes.
More about this artifact can be read on the SunRiders Telegram channel.

Beyond this, there exists other types of bindrunes, such as mirror runes, however
in the name of brevity, we will omit these bindrunes from analysis. However, one
last type of bindrune is relevant to the holy ALU bindrune central to this artical,
chiefly, the “single-stave bindrune”.

Single-Stave Bindrune

The single-stave bindrune is basically a bindrune which is composed of runes

arranged vertically (instead of horizontally, as is seen in more mundane
inscriptions). What “binds” the runes together is the conjoining of the individual
runes along a primary central stave, as defined earlier in the article.

One of the more popular examples of a single-stave bindrune is a series of 3

Tiwaz (ᛏ) runes found in 2 archeological artifacts, the Seeland-II-C bracteate and
the Malt Runestone.

The single-staved Tiwaz bindrune is detailed in the above diagram (1). In the
Seeland-II-C bracteate (2) it can be seen at the end of a runic inscription (noted in
red). On the Malt Runestone (3), which features a cryptic prose inscription, the
triple-Tiwaz bindrune can be seen randomly placed within the inscription (red).
Given that there is no grammatical reason to have this bindrune, it is likely
magical or religious in purpose, and used to invoke the Germanic God of War,
Tyr. The triple repetition of runes is a motif seen in numerous artifacts from this
era, but rarely in bindrunes such as this.
Above is an another example of a single-staved bindrune, found on the Kylver
Runestone (the earliest depiction of the Elder Futhark), which is composed of
Tiwaz and Ansuz runes.

Cypher Runes

Cypher runes are another class of runes. As the name implies, cypher runes were
often used to conceal messages. They feature symbols which are runic in
appearance (pseudo-runic), but instead, if the code is known, can be converted
into runes to reveal messages.

There are a few different types of cypher runes, and we won’t dive into them all
here, but instead we will talk about “tent runes”, how they work, and generate
some examples.

What makes the topic of cypher runes particularly difficult is that most extant
examples are from the Younger Futhark alphabet, and changes occurred with this
alphabet and cypher rune conventions to make this section incredibly
complicated. So instead, let’s generate some very simple examples of cypher
runes using the Elder Futhark convention. We will use the Proto-Norse word “Ek”
(meaning “I” in modern English) as our example word.
In the first example (Classic “Tent Rune”), we can see an X shaped figure with
numerous “twigs” extending off the ends of the “branches” of the symbol. This
style of cypher runes can be observed on the Rök Runestone (pictured below). In
this type of rune, the top 2 corners represent the 1st rune that is being cyphered,
while the bottom 2 corners represent a 2nd rune. The cypher is read in a clockwise
fashion, starting with the top left corner. The number of twigs (3) on the first
position (top left) represents the corresponding ætt, in this case, the 3rd ætt
(ᛏᛒᛖᛗᛚᛜᛟᛞ). The 3 twigs in the 2nd position represents the 3rd rune from this ætt
(ᛏᛒᛖᛗᛚᛜᛟᛞ). Taken together, the identity of the 1st rune is ᛖ (E). The next rune
begins at the bottom right position of the cypher rune, with 1 twig representing
the 1st ætt (ᚠᚢᚦᚨᚱᚲᚷᚹ).
The 6 twigs at the
bottom left position of
the cypher represent
the 6th rune within the
ætt (ᚠᚢᚦᚨᚱᚲᚷᚹ). Thus,
the identity of the 2nd rune is ᚲ, and taken together the cypher rune could be read
as ᛖᚲ (“Ek”).

The cypher rune witnessed in the Karlino Ring however is much simpler, although
it uses a similar principle. To demonstrate this principle, I included examples of
these cypher runes spelling “Ek”, which utilize the same general premise as the
previous tent runes. This style features just a single vertical stave, where the twigs
at the top of the stave represent the ætt, whereas the twigs at the bottom of the
stave represent the position within the ætt.

The Karlino Ring and the ALU rune

The Ring in question was found in a Migration Era horde in the West Pomeranian
region of Poland, and undoubtedly was constructed in Scandinavia. The ring is
composed of gold and has a unique shape, with numerous faces depicting
animals, a swastika, and other decorative motifs. Of note however is a face which
contains a rune-like symbol, and underneath the word ALU written in Elder
Futhark runes.
While it is beyond the scope of this article, the phrase ALU very clearly had an
important religious significance to our people, perhaps representing the sacred
Mead of Mimir’s well. It is by far the most common Elder Futhark runic inscription
in the existing corpus. Let us break down quickly how this symbol represents the
phrase ALU.

One must keep in

mind that the symbol
is both a single-stave
bindrune and a cypher
rune. Let us first
approach it as a
bindrune. The symbol
is most basically an
inverted Ansuz rune
(ᚨ) bound to an
upright Laguz rune (ᛚ).
This is relatively easy
to see. In addition, as
a cypher rune, the
symbol represents a
rune within the 1st ætt,
2nd position within the
ætt, in other words,
the Uruz rune (ᚢ). So taken together, the symbol represents ᚨᛚᚢ, an ancient runic
charm word. While this may seem somewhat far-fetched, it seems rather
concrete given the inscription explicitly spells out ᚨᛚᚢ directly below the symbol,
adding addition credence to the hypothesis.

Conclusion

Overall, this writeup should provide the practicing Germanic polytheist with 2
things, first, a greater understanding of how bindrunes and cypher runes work
from a historical perspective, and secondly, I have hopefully provide an oft talked
about symbol with potentially groundbreaking religious significance. In a world
where heathens often adopt historical symbols in which the meaning is not well
known, this could provide an opportunity to adopt symbols with a more well-
known or interpretable symbol.

-Hariwulfaz, The Sun Riders

t.me/solarcult